Growing perennial kale
I’ve just planted out a row of 5 new perennial kale plants that I propagated last winter. These are Taunton Deane kale (or cottagers kale) which can grow up to 2m or more so will create a barrier between my annual veg beds and the perennial veg area. The mulch of wood chip suits perennial plants, keeping down weeds and trapping moisture as well as supplying nutrients.
Perennial kale can get quite leggy so I took a few cuttings which is really easy – snip off a knobby shoot, remove the large, older leaves and push into a pot of soil, water and leave in cold frame (below). Easy. So 4 new cuttings to replace some of my older specimens next year as they are a short lived perennial.
I got my original plant from Mandy at @incredible_vegetables back in 2015 and have enjoyed this crop ever since. Mandy has a really informative page on Taunton Dene kale with some interesting observations on how perennial kale on the plot can take the heat off your annual brassicas, reducing the need for butterfly netting in summer. https://www.incrediblevegetables.co.uk/taunton-deane-kale
We sell it at Earthed Up! too. We have 4 plants acting as a windbreak to our small polytunnel!